ENGLAND LADY MILNE TRIAL 2019 SPECIFIC CONDITIONS OF CONTEST 1 Last updated 4 January 2019
Contents 1. Definitions... 3 2. Scope of the Trial... 3 3. Entry Fee... 3 4. Eligibility... 3 5. Registered players and substitutes... 3 6. Timetable and format... 3 7. Systems and partnership understandings... 4 8. Late arrival... 4 9. Slow Play... 5 10. Selection... 6 2 Last updated 4 January 2019
1. Definitions 1.1. The Conditions of Contest for the England Lady Milne Trial comprise the General Conditions of Contest and these Specific Conditions of Contest. This document should be read in conjunction with the General Conditions of Contest. 2. Scope of the Trial 2.1. The England Lady Milne Trial is a trial, together with a pre-trial, played under international championship conditions, to select two pairs to join a third pair that will be selected at a later date, to form the team to represent England in the 2019 Lady Milne Trophy, to be held in Ireland, over the weekend of Friday 12 th to Sunday 14 th April 2019. 2.2. The England Lady Milne Trial is not a trial for European or World Championships. 2.3. The winners of the Trial and the second placed pair earn selection to the England team for the Lady Milne Trophy 2019. 3. Entry Fee 3.1. The entry fee is 120.00 per player. 4. Eligibility 4.1. All players must be female members of the Union in good standing. 4.2. All players must be eligible to represent England in the Lady Milne Trophy under the regulations of Bridge Great Britain. 4.3. Any player unsure of her eligibility should contact Gordon Rainsford gordon@ebu.co.uk 4.4. If a player loses either her good standing or her eligibility during the course of the season, then that player will be disqualified from further participation in the event and from ultimate selection to represent England. 5. Registered players and substitutes 5.1. Sections 6 and 7 of the General Conditions of Contest shall apply to this event in their entirety. 6. Timetable and format 6.1. The event will consist of a pre-trial of 16 pairs, which will qualify 6 pairs to join 2 exempted pairs in the final. In the event of an exempted pair(s) or a qualifying pair(s) becoming unavailable to play the final trial, the next placed pair(s) in the pre-trial will qualify to the final trial. 6.2. The pre-trial will consist of 16 pairs playing a single round-robin of 8-board matches. The final trial will consist of 8 pairs playing a single round-robin of 16-board matches. 6.3. Scoring will be by cross-imps divided by the number of comparisons. All results will be displayed correct to 2 decimal places. 6.4. In each 8-board match, the winning pair's score will be capped at 32 IMPs. In each 16 board match, the winning pair s score will be capped at 49 IMPs. The losing pair's score will not be affected by this procedure. 3 Last updated 4 January 2019
6.5. The pre-trial will be played at Young Chelsea Bridge Club on 13 th -15 th January 2019. The final trial will also be played at Young Chelsea Bridge Club on 2 nd 3 rd February 2019. 6.6. The playing schedule for the pre-trial is: Friday: Saturday: Sunday: 19.00 22.35 Three matches of eight boards 10.30-14.05 Three matches of eight boards 14.35-19.25 Four matches of eight boards 10.30-14.05 Three matches of eight boards 14.35-16.55 Two matches of eight boards Special circumstances may dictate that minor changes be made to the timings, at the discretion of the Tournament Director in Charge. 6.7. The playing schedule for the final trial is: Saturday: Sunday: 10.45-12.55 One match of sixteen boards 13.25-15.35 One match of sixteen boards 15.55-18.05 One match of sixteen boards 18.25-20.35 One match of sixteen boards 10.45-12.55 One match of sixteen boards 13.25-15.35 One match of sixteen boards 15.55-18.05 One match of sixteen boards Special circumstances may dictate that minor changes be made to the timings, at the discretion of the Tournament Director in Charge. 6.8. The movement will be determined in advance and arranged so that each pair meets each other pair once. 6.9. In the event of the withdrawal of pairs, the format may be varied at the discretion of the Committee. 7. Systems and partnership understandings 7.1. Systems and conventions which are authorised at EBU Level 5 are permitted throughout, whether or not categorised by the WBF as Brown Sticker or HUM. Other Brown Sticker methods and HUM systems are not permitted. 7.2. WBF convention cards may be used as an alternative to EBU convention cards. 8. Late arrival 8.1. A pair is late if one or more playing members of that pair is not seated and ready to play at the advertised starting time. Warnings and penalties apply to the pair as a whole rather than to any individual. 4 Last updated 4 January 2019
8.2. If no boards are removed, a pair warned or penalised for late arrival retains the full time in which to play that round, i.e. the starting time for that table is officially delayed. Penalties for late arrival are as follows (assuming eight-board rounds, adjusted appropriately for sixteen-board rounds): 0-12 minutes late: 2 IMPs penalty save that a warning will be issued in lieu of a penalty for the first offence in the weekend of no more than 4 minutes of lateness. Thereafter, for each portion of 8 minutes late or part thereof, up to 30 minutes late, an additional 2 IMPs penalty and 1 board is removed from the match and scored as +/- 2 IMPs. Example: 22 minutes late would be a penalty of 6 IMPs and would cause 2 boards to be removed from the match (scored as +/- 4 IMPs in total). If a pair is more than 35 minutes late for an eight-board round, that round will normally be abandoned and provisionally scored as +/- 6 IMPs. At the end of the event, this provisional score will be subject to adjustment according to the unplayed matches formula in the General Conditions of Contest. Additionally, the offending pair will be penalised 8 IMPs. 8.3. In the event of the abandonment of a match under 8.2, a full report will be made to the Committee. The Committee may take such action as it thinks fit. In particular it may adjust the provisional score of either or both pairs, and may disqualify the offenders if it considers any impropriety to have taken place. The decision of the Committee under this paragraph shall be final. 8.4. The warnings and penalties described in this section may be expunged for cause either in part or in whole for late arrival for the start of the event. A pair which feels that it can demonstrate good cause for late arrival for the start of the event may apply to the Committee for a waiver or relaxation of these penalties. 9. Slow Play 9.1. The playing time allowed for each round will be approximately eight minutes per board, rounded up to the nearest five minutes (65 minutes for eight-board matches, 130 minutes for sixteen-board matches), with an additional 10 minutes allowed for moving between each round. 9.2. Automatic penalties will apply at any table which runs over the allotted time. The penalty on the table involved will be 4 IMPs per five-minute delay or part thereof. The Tournament Director will apportion the responsibility for the slow play between the two pairs involved and will assess penalties separately to the pairs involved on this basis. All penalties will be expressed in terms of whole numbers of IMPs only. Example: a table is 3 minutes late. One pair is held to be approximately three-quarters responsible and the other approximately one-quarter responsible. The penalty is 3 IMPs to the one pair and 1 IMP to the other. 9.3. If a suitable person is available to act as a time monitor, the Tournament Director may appoint such a person to monitor the speed of play at any table (either at the request of one of the pairs or on his own initiative). Otherwise the responsibility for monitoring the speed of play lies with the Tournament Director. 5 Last updated 4 January 2019
9.4. Approximately half way through each match and approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled time for the completion of play, the Tournament Director shall notify each table of the time remaining. Although the Tournament Director will endeavour to warn a pair when they are in danger of a penalty being imposed, any failure to do so shall not preclude the imposition of a penalty. 9.5. The Tournament Directors have been instructed to apply the penalty provisions of this Appendix strictly, though discretion shall be used by the TD where a table has been delayed through no fault of its own. 10. Selection 10.1. Subject to the requirements and conditions set out in these Conditions of Contest, the leading two pairs in the Trials will be guaranteed selection and a third pair will be selected by the committee. If one or more of the leading two pairs is unable to play in the Lady Milne Trophy, the Selection Committee will select another pair or pairs as it see fit to complete the team. These will normally, but not invariably, be from the trialists. 10.2. Selection for this event may be on a funded, part-funded, or unfunded basis, at the discretion of the Committee. English Bridge Union Broadfields Bicester Road Aylesbury HP19 8AZ Tel: 01296 317200 Fax: 01296 317220 Email: dawn@ebu.co.uk 6 Last updated 4 January 2019